Rabbah

Rabbah in the Bible

The Bible often calls this city "Rabbah of the children of Ammon." There was also a town of the same name in the territory of Judah (Joshua 15:60), but almost nothing is known about it.

• Deuteronomy 3:11: Records that the iron bedstead of Og king of Bashan was in Rabbah of the children of Ammon.
• 2 Samuel 11:1; 12:26–31; 1 Chronicles 20:1–3: War broke out after Hanun king of the Ammonites humiliated David's envoys (2 Samuel 10). During this war Joab besieged Rabbah while David remained in Jerusalem. In the meantime David sinned with Bathsheba, and to cover up that sin he had Uriah placed where the fighting was fiercest beneath the walls of Rabbah so that he would be killed (2 Samuel 11:14–17). Later Joab captured part of the city and summoned David, who came and took the city. On that occasion David took a crown weighing a talent of gold.
• 2 Samuel 17:27: When David fled during Absalom's rebellion, Shobi the son of Nahash, of Rabbah, brought provisions to David and those with him.
• The Prophets: Amos 1:14, Jeremiah 49:2–3, and Ezekiel 21:20 and 25:5 proclaim the judgment that would fall on Rabbah.

Background

The Hebrew name Rabbah derives from a word meaning "to be great" and is understood to mean "great city." Rabbah was the chief city of Ammon, situated on the plateau east of the Jordan River. In the Hellenistic period it was called Philadelphia, after the epithet of Ptolemy II, and in the Roman period it was known as one of the cities of the Decapolis. The citadel hill in present-day Amman and its surroundings are widely accepted as the site of ancient Rabbah.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the account of Rabbah, military victory and David's personal sin are intertwined. David succeeded in conquering Rabbah, yet he was rebuked by Nathan for the sin he committed during the same period (2 Samuel 12). In the prophetic books, Rabbah is a target of the proclamation that God judges even the nations outside Israel. The names Rabbah and Philadelphia do not appear in the New Testament; the Philadelphia of Revelation 3:7 was a different city, located in Asia Minor (see Seven Churches of Asia).

Interpretations and Issues

• Treatment of captives: Interpreters differ over what David did to the people of Rabbah in 2 Samuel 12:31. Some read the passage as describing forced labor with saws, axes, brick kilns, and the like; others read it as describing cruel execution. Korean Bible translations also differ in their renderings.
• Whose crown?: The Hebrew word translated "their king" in 2 Samuel 12:30 becomes the name of the Ammonite god Milcom when read with different vowels. For this reason some interpret the crown as belonging to an idol. Scholars also differ on whether Milcom should be identified with Molech.

In the Korean Church

The statement in 2 Samuel 11:1 that "after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle," David remained in Jerusalem rather than going out to the battlefield at Rabbah is frequently cited in Korean church preaching. It is commonly used to teach that temptation begins when one leaves the place where one ought to be. Many sermons also contrast Uriah's loyalty to the king with David's conduct.